Timely behind-the-scenes insights into the current presidential campaign and those of past challengers will be offered by Samuel Popkin, noted political scientist and author, during a free lecture at noon, Nov. 1, in the Geisel Library at UC San Diego.

Popkin, a professor of political science at UC San Diego, is the author of the newly-published book The Candidate: What It Takes to Win—and Hold—the White House.The New York Times hailed his book as a “management bible for the business of presidential campaigning” in which Popkin argues that “polling, strategy and even a candidate’s platform are less important than organization.”

The Washington Post called Popkin’s campaign book a “compelling history” and The Financial Times called it “a fix for political junkies” while George Stephanopoulos praised it for the “surprising secrets” unveiled by Popkin’s unique ability to connect the minds of voters with the machinery of political campaigns.

Popkin’s previous book, The Reasoning Voter was described as a classic by Joe Klein in Timemagazine, and has been widely cited in Washington as well as in academia.

Popkin is an active participant as well as an academic analyst of presidential elections. He has consulted on polling, targeting and strategy in the presidential campaigns of Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and George McGovern, and played Ronald Reagan for Carter in the practice debates held before the 1980 Carter-Reagan debate.